tefltraveler in Indonesia

Neighbors

2009-05-22T15:02:00.001+08:00

Every morning I take time alone with God in our upstairs dining room. I prepare my daily cup of instant 3-in-1 coffee (coffee, creamer, sugar) and set up a chair next to the railing overlooking the beach and the fishing community that lives on it. Often I’m there before others on our base come up for breakfast, and if there is anyone else around I just try to ignore them and focus on my “3 in 1 time” – 3-in-1 coffee and my 3-in-1 God.

Over the last 4 months that I’ve been doing this regularly I’ve been able to observe a lot about the lifestyle of my neighbors in the fishing village. They don’t have running water in their shack-homes on the beach so the few families nearest our base come in as they please to use our tap for cooking water and one public bathroom for bathing. I’m starting to recognize the relationships among the villagers – the 4 generations that live in the shack immediately in front of us, others in the community who come visit them or deliver things. I see when the young husband comes home from his night job as a security guard; when the children wake up and go to the bathroom outside their house (later mom comes and sweeps up anything they left behind); when any of the women of the house put out their morning offerings to the gods.

I see when our western neighbor walks her dog, occasionally stopping to chat with the locals, and when she takes her kids to school. Then there is the couple who push their food cart down the street to their selling spot. I watch as the village men come back with their early morning catch, load it into baskets which they either carry in huge baskets suspended by a long pole or put into buckets which the women balance on their heads and carry down to the markets.

But perhaps what I love the most is when I see dads walking on the beach carrying their babies or helping their toddlers walk. And the other day I saw 2 little girls who could have been only 4-5 years old, holding hands as the walk and dabble their feet in the water. I haven’t seen anything more precious than that since living here. With all of the social / family problems that may be going on, as in any culture, it is encouraging to see things like good dads and childhood friendships.

These are the kinds of things you probably would never notice if you were only visiting Bali. But getting to live here, and specifically in the area I live in, I’ve gotten to see a bit of real Balinese life. I know I said I observe during my quiet time with God, so it may sound like I’m not really focusing on Him as I watch my neighbors. But I think what is actually happening is that as I learn more about the community and their culture I can lay aside any preconceptions I may have about their way of life and begin to see them as God sees them – which is one of the first principles of Faith-based community development.

Day of Silence

2009-04-22T17:17:00.004+08:00

In my last post (a little more than 3 weeks ago) I mentioned ending silence - that of the internet blogging variety. This post is going to be about the subject of silence itself. The silence I wish to speak of is that required of all residents of Bali for one whole day every year. The reason? The Balinese new year holiday of Nyepi, which fell on March 26 this year.

What is Nyepi? It's more than just a new year holiday, it has deep spiritual and social meaning. It's easiest to compare as a one-day version of Lent. The night before is like Mardi Gras, with everyone out until really late getting drunk and dancing to ridiculously loud music blaring from speakers set up in the streets(we were advised to stay home to avoid all the drunken men in the streets). But once 6am comes, everyone must observe the following 4 rules:

1) no fire/light - after sunset lights are kept off in all buildings and any lights required to walk around safely must be kept low/dim; this also means no cooking

2) no working - it's a time to stay home with family and meditate, reflect on life and its relationships, etc.

3) no traveling - for one whole day there is no traffic in Bali!!! You're not allowed to leave your house/compound at all for 24 hours. So there's no motorbikes buzzing through the streets, no bicycles or cars, and even the international airport shuts down.

4) no revelry/entertainment - prohibition on fun is to keep you serious and focused on your spiritual condition, it often also includes fasting

At 6am the following day, everything gets loud again as people return to drunken celebrating and life as usual. There are religious ceremonies and rituals that are observed, including the homemade idols made in the image of demons or scary figures carried through the streets by children to the beach to be burned. I happened to be upstairs doing my devotions at the same time as this happened (between 6-7am) so I had a prime view of the children carrying the images. My heart ached as I watched children who were oblivious to the idolatry they were involved in and just as oblivious to the truth of the One who wants to save them from it.

So how did we spend Nyepi? Out of respect for the community that we live in, we avoid visibly breaking the rules required of our neighbors. All non-Hindus, including tourists, are asked to avoid leaving their homes/hotels as well, turning on lights at night, etc. In preparation our base did a lot of prayer/intercession for the island and our neighborhood. Our kitchen staff prepared our meals the day before so that we wouldn't be caught cooking (our kitchen is upstairs in a relatively open/visible position), though we could individually make some instant noodles or fry an egg or whatever as long as we could keep it hidden from view that we were cooking. We were allowed to walk around within our base compound, we just couldn't go outside the gate. We had to avoid talking loudly and any open laughter. The nice thing was that the electricity wasn't shut off, so we could still do things in our rooms. I spent a lot of the day watching movies in my room, either with headphones or at a low volume. I also got caught up on some of my work. After dark, I kept a scented candle lit in my room (thanks to a supporter who sent it to me!). Some of us decided to watch the stars from a balcony beside the kitchen. We layed there, largely out of sight, staring up at the huge sky with bright stars that we could actually see since there were no city lights to block them from view. We listened as the traiditonal security men patrolled the streets, watching and listening to see if anyone was breaking any of the rules (which is an actual punishable legal offence). I almost felt like we were Jews in hiding with the Gestapo patrolling... Then when we went to bed, we were able to enjoy pure nighttime silence.

For me Nyepi wasn't as bad as I had heard it to be. Having just returned from my trip to Malaysia it was nice to have a day to rest and prepare for work - yet on the other hand I had so many things I needed to get caught up on and could only do so much within the confines of my room. It sort of just felt like an average Saturday for me, staying at home, relaxing, not being bothered by anyone, eating whenever I felt like it instead of by the clock. The silence was almost eerie but I soaked it up knowing how loud it would be every other day of the year. I'm sure that at least once in the next 300 days I'm going to wish we had a Day of Silence more than once a year.

The end of my internet silence

2009-03-29T14:51:00.003+08:00

I realize that it's been almost 2 months since I last posted. But for those who have actually kept up with what I've been involved in it shouldn't be too surprising - I did in fact warn you that I wouldn't be able to write until after the end of the month-long seminar we hosted at our base. Now it is finally over, as is my trip to Malaysia for my visa run, so things should be finally getting back to somewhat normal (although, as my friend Melodie likes to say, normal is only a setting on the washing machine...). As for my work activities, I'll be publishing those stories and details in my next newsletter, which I *hope* to publish within the next week.

As for that trip I took to Malaysia, I've gotten several questions about why I went, what I did, etc. So here's the scoop. The visa that I had to enter and stay in Indonesia was only valid for 6 months. After 6 months I have to leave the country, and my 6 month mark came on March 20. My base allows us foreigners 4 business days (plus 2 potential weekend days) to travel and get a new visa. My options for where I could go to change my visa were either Singapore or Malaysia. I've been to both places before, but I much prefer Malaysia - Singapore is expensive and boring after only a couple days, while Malaysia has some of the best food in the world (cheap too) and lots of fun stuff to do. I also realized that I could use the days I had been given to go visit the Malaysian island of Penang, which I've wanted to visit for years since some of my friends went to a boarding school there and told me all about how great the island was.

So on March 19 I flew from Bali to Kuala Lumpur, then caught a flight from there to Penang, arriving at night. During our seminar I met some visiting YWAMers from Penang who I was able to connect with when I went there. There wasn't room for me to stay at the base, so they arranged for me to stay at a guest room at the same international school where my friends had lived! (one of the YWAMers is a teacher there) It was a bit surreal to imagine them living there. Friday and Saturday I spent time with 2 YWAM families, while also taking a little time to explore parts of the island on my own (though I definitely would need several more days to really enjoy it all). Sunday I only had a few hours before I had to leave, so early in the morning I went to one of the famous beaches to spend time with God, praying and journaling. Actually I had hoped that I could use this whole trip as a time for me to be able to reflect back on the last 3-6 months and all that God had been teaching me, then pray about the next 9 months and all that God is preparing me for in both my personal/spiritual life and in ministry. I spent hours reflecting - many of them at Starbucks :) - and filled up many pages in my journal.

a beach in Batu Ferengghi, Penang Island

Sunday afternoon I took a bus trip from Penang to Kuala Lumpur (Penang is connected by a bridge to the mainland of Western Malaysia). The journey only took 5 1/2 hours, much shorter than the series of 10-14 hour bus rides my team took in Africa. I wish I hadn't been so sleepy because the scenery was absolutely stunning. Every time I opened my eyes I wished I could keep them open longer to appreciate the landscape. I love Malaysia...

I got to Kuala Lumpur (shortened to KL) in the evening and found my way to the nearest metro station to take a train to the part of town where one of my friends lives. He did his DTS here in Bali last year and has hosted several people when they've had to go to KL. Monday I headed back to the city center by myself, found the Indonesian embassy, and put in my application for my visa. This time I'm not getting a 6 month social cultural visa, but rather a 12 month temporary stay permit. I was a bit stressed about the process, not knowing if I had everything they needed from me or exactly how long it would take. But God is always faithful :) The staff at the embassy were the most polite and patient I have ever met, actually taking time to chat with me and not just rushing through procedure (I think they're happy when they see foreigners who speak Indonesian). I was so relieved to hear that everything was approved and I'd be able to come back the same afternoon to pick up my passport and visa. That's the quickest processing time I've ever heard of - at every other consulate / embassy I've been to it takes at least 2-3 days.

I spend the rest of the afternoon at the famous Petronas Towers shopping mall, buying some things I can't get in Indonesia, then spent the evening with my friend. The next day I slept in through an incredible thunderstorm, then met another friend in the city for lunch. My DTS team spent 4 days in KL on our way back to Melbourne from Africa, and she and her family had generously hosted us. We had a good time catching up and talking about Melbourne and YWAM. Then she drove me all the way to the airport! (more than an hour outside the city) My flight was delayed and by this time I was anxious to get back home to Bali. When I arrived I breezed through immigration and customs and was greeted by 4 guys from my base who had come to pick me up and take me home.

Now I'm back, relatively refreshed and ready for the rest of the year. The work is already piling on for me, but I've always preferred that to boredom. Some aspects of what I'll be doing this year are still up in the air, so I'm praying that God will give me more clarity and direction.

Meet Edward:

2009-02-05T17:37:00.005+08:00

I'd like to introduce you all to Edward. Edward is the name I have given to the motorbike I am now renting. He is a black Yamaha Mio automatic and has less than 125 cc's, but that's enough for me! One of my friends on staff wanted to purchase another motorbike for the purpose of renting it out to friends and students, so he and I came to an agreement (after I reviewed & modified my budget) and now I am renting the bike from him. He also gave me the option of eventually purchasing the bike from him if I get enough money to pay the balance on it – though I don’t expect to be able to do that for a while.

I've had Edward for a little more than a week now and have mostly been driving around
our local roads / alleys, but by this weekend I'm hoping to make it out to the highway (with the help of one or two of the guys on staff who have been teaching the girls how to drive). I'm getting more used to taking passengers already and my confidence is growing every day. It's already made my life here a lot easier as I've been able to more quickly & frequently go to our office, run errands, etc.

Edward has enjoyed being parked under the cover of a roof at night while it's raining, sleeping next to his cousins Richard and Harold (2 other new Mio's belonging to other girls on staff). But next week he'll have to start sleeping outside to clear the path for all the guests we will be hosting for the next month.

Taking Care of Each Other

2009-02-04T17:32:00.002+08:00

As I began making my newsletter for January, I realized there were some things in it that I could post here in order to save myself space & use it for things I really couldn't post here. Plus, I have been really lazy in posting to this blog. So the following is an excerpt originally intended for the newsletter (which subscribers should receive within a week):

One of the big advantages of living in community is having people close by to take care of you when you need them – whether it’s spiritual, emotional, or physical. I have specific friends on staff here that I go to depending on the kind of support I need. In mid-January I needed nursing for a stomach parasite I somehow picked up. Thankfully since one of the ministries of our base is health care and we run a health care school, we have several people with plenty of experience to help diagnose and treat minor medical problems among our staff.

During the 4-5 days that I was sick many of my friends came to my room to check up on me, see if I needed anything – food, drink, massage, ice for my fever, etc., and pray for me. Every day people would ask me, “Are you better yet?” It felt so good to have so many people concerned about me. I was sad that I had to miss the bridal shower of one of our staff since I was still too weak and nauseous from the medicine I was taking.

Saturday night I couldn’t sleep. By 3am or so I was really frustrated. I finally began to really pray. All month God had been teaching me that humility is the key to seeing prayer answered. As I begged God for relief of my sickness and to grant me sleep, I realized that for 3 days I had been receiving prayer from so many other people but had been too lazy / passive to really pray for myself. I was embarrassed at that realization and immediately repented of it. I continued to pray, and somewhere around 5am I finally fell asleep. I only got about 3 hours of sleep, but the miracle is that the next day I had new strength. I was eating more, able to do some minor cleaning, and spent hours working at my computer (I’d previously been unable to focus / concentrate) – all on only 3 hours of sleep! When I finally went to bed somewhere near midnight, I realized what a miracle God had done for me. He hadn’t answered my prayer for more sleep, but instead He provided me with the strength I needed for the day. By Monday I was almost completely recovered.

2009-01-10T19:04:00.005+08:00

I’m a bit embarrased that I haven’t updated this blog for the last month. But then I considered that since December is a very busy month for everyone at home, with holiday preparations and events and family time, why should it be different for me? It was just as busy a month for me, though with different things than for those of you at home. So now that the holidays are over and things are starting to settle back down into normalcy, I can start to fill you in on how I’ve spent the last month. A larger portion of it will end up in the next edition of my monthly newsletter, but this should give you an idea.

After 2 weeks of work stress and holiday events, I left Bali behind to head to my “hometown” in Indonesia – Pontianak, in West Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo) – for 2 weeks. This is the same place where I stayed for the month of June when I first came to Indonesia, with my former leader and his family. This time I stayed at the YWAM base, together with staff friends I knew from before and a DTS outreach team from America who arrived the same day I did. I enjoyed being able to help orientate the team to Indonesia (culture, etc.) and our work here. I also did bits of translating between the local staff (who speak almost no English) and the team members.

I spent a memorable Christmas and New Years there with the staff and team, and in the days in between I was able to release the stress I had built up in Bali while soaking up more authentic Indonesian culture (which we don’t get much of in Bali) and speaking a lot more Indonesian than I usually do. Some days I bathed in the local river, and others I stood ouside in the middle of a downpour, just for the fun of it. We all had fun playing with the pet monkey that belongs to one of the foreigners that’s living at the base and the beautiful golden retriever puppy that belongs to another.

Now I’ve returned home to Bali to begin a new year of service. All of our staff spent the first week back on the job working on painting our entire base. Our leader called it “worship week,” in an effort to keep us focused on the Reason for everything that we do. I think that even though we all are very tired from the physical labor, we also enjoyed it. It also helps give us a sense of ownership over the place we call home. I got to help paint my own room, in addition to several other rooms around the base. Next week things will actually start to get “back to normal” for all of us.

Rainy Season is Here

2008-12-08T17:00:00.002+08:00

Indonesia's 4 to 5 month rainy season has been gradually kicking into gear since early-mid November. It has rained a few days a week, usually in the late evening and over night, proving itself not too horrible an inconvenience. Yet all I've heard from the locals is that the REAL rainy season is yet to come...

Now I've experienced "rainy season" before - when I lived in Japan. From early-mid June through mid-late July we'd have almost daily rain and lots of wonderful thunderstorms. I remember having to ride my bike to school in the rain with a special rain suit covering up my work clothes to try to keep me dry (though there was no way to keep my feet completely dry). I also remember - rather nostalgically - our typhoon season from August through early November which would bless us with the occasional day off school (sort of like a "snow day").

But apparently all of this is still nothing compared with a tropical rainy season in Indonesia. I've been told to expect it to rain every single day, at any time of the day - which I'm not looking forward to since I need sunshine to survive. I've also been told about strong winds (which is usually just a breeze here, even so close to the sea) and storms - which is the one part I am actually excited about since I love storms.

Yesterday I think rainy season finally arrived in all of its glory. Saturday night there was a downpour (which I love listening to as I sleep). Then again in mid-afternoon it rained again. So when it came time for me to go to church in the late afternoon I figured I wouldn't need my rain coat since it had already rained twice. As you can guess, I figured wrong. About 5 minutes down the road it started sprinkling. That's when Tatiana pulled over to the side of the road to put on her rain coat. All I could do was clutch my skirt at my sides even harder to keep it from flying up in my face as the wind picked up and the rain began to pelt us (wearing a skirt on a motorbike is an art that I am still learning...). By the time we made it to church the entire front of my skirt was soaked through to the skin. Thankfully I had opted to wear my black skirt instead of my white one :) My sweater actually did a good job of absorbing the rain so I wasn't so soaked on top. Miraculously the things inside my purse - including my Bible and a couple of paperback books I was lending a friend - were all dry. Still, I wasn't too thrilled to walk in to church dripping and shivering. But, it was worth it all to be there in the presence of God with His people for an amazing service. And thankfully the trip home was drier.

Although it rained again overnight we had beautiful blue sky this morning & afternoon - with a black looming sky to the north and puffy cumulus thunder clouds heading our way. What a beautiful picture the contrast makes though. I much prefer it to the perma-gray skies of the Pacific Northwest which you can never predict when it's going to rain. At least here we do have some advance warning. And now, the warning stands for every day until March.

Flashback to Africa

2008-11-26T16:25:00.002+08:00

One of the things I could count on when I was in Africa last year was that I couldn't count on the electricity. For an average of 2 hours a day - often around the time we'd be in the middle of cooking dinner - the electricity would go out, leaving us scrambling to switch to charcoal stoves, dig around for our flashlights, and scrounge up matches to eat by candlelight. After a couple of weeks of that you get used to the inconvenience and begin to lessen your dependence upon electricity. It is now one of those nostalgic memories I have of those 10 weeks.

Coming to Indonesia I was well-prepared for power-outages. Only here they have happened far less frequently, so it isn't adapted to as a part of daily life as it was in Africa. That means that when the power goes out here, there's a lot more scrambling and frustration at the inconvenience. A couple of weeks ago I came home from language school to find the power out in our whole neighborhood - with the exception of the tourist restaurants that have backup generators. Tina and I had been rained on on our way home anyway, so we expected it to be a stormy night. There were only enough candles to light the hallways and our dining room, not our individual rooms, so most people were still hanging out in the dining room when we got home just before 7 (dinner's at 6). We passed a couple of hours chatting over candlelight, trying to think of a fun, dry way to spend the evening. Thankfully around 9 the power came back on so we were able to watch a movie.

However last night wasn't quite as enjoyable of a blackout for me...
I had an extremely busy Monday and Tuesday, with meetings and ministry and work duties keeping me busier than I've experienced since I've been on staff here. I was almost too exhausted to eat dinner. My one glimmer of hope was the prospect of taking a luxurious hot shower. So after dinner and cleanup I headed to the building in the back of our property that has hot water (we all have only cool water in our rooms but can occasionally go in and use the other common shower). I could feel all my tense muscles starting to relax under the glorious hot water.
Then suddenly, everything went black. It was so dark I couldn't see my hand in front of me. There I was, standing in the dark, lathered up in shower gel that hadn't yet been rinsed off and conditioner still in my hair. And no water. Hoping that it was just a short outage and the power would quickly come back, I stood there for another minute before feeling the walls by hand to get to my towel. Since I hadn't rinsed off yet I didn't want to get my clean clothes soapy, so I just wrapped up my hair and my body, opened the door to find it just as dark in the outer room, and felt my way out of the building. It wasn't too much lighter outside, just enough to be able to make out where the mango tree is so I wouldn't run into it and the location of the other buildings so I could navigate my way back to my room.
There I found my trusty flashlight - the same one I'd used in Africa - and changed into a sarong. I discovered that the water was in fact still running (just with reduced pressure), so I headed back to finish up my shower, the flashlight illuminating the bathroom just enough so I could finally see what I was doing. I wrapped up in my sarong again, threw the rest of my stuff (clothes, toiletries, and all) back in my bag and returned to my room. After changing in the dark, I packed up my computer and a couple of DVDs and Tina and I drove over to our other base property where there was electricity and finished up our evening relaxing to a comedy. By the time we returned home the power was already back on.

I'm guessing that with the arrival of the rainy season and its stormy weather I can expect power outages a bit more frequently here. I just hope that next time I won't be in the shower.

A break from school... for now

2008-11-17T15:52:00.002+08:00

Last Friday I had my last day of my Level 3 Indonesian language class. 4 weeks went by fast, and I learned tons in that time. I've really grown in my grammar and writing ability. I still feel really limited in vocabulary, but that's something I can always work on. I was hoping & planning to continue to Level 4, which would have begun today for another 4 weeks, but there weren't enough students interested in doing Level 4 for them to be able to run the class (they need a minimum of 4 students, and there were only 2 committed, including me). So I'll have to wait til next year. They start the next round of classes in the middle of January, but I've now been assigned to a committee planning & organizing a major leadership seminar at our base next February/March (details to come in my next newsletter). I'm not going to have enough time to study and do my job, so I'm going to have to put my studies on hold until after the seminar. In the meantime I'll have to do independent study and focus on really practicing & applying what I learned at language school.

*******

The majority of the staff at my base is female, and only some of us girls are able to drive motorbikes, let alone cars. Recently there's been a surge in interest in learning how to drive, since we get tired of having to ask others to drive us places. So we've been practicing. We drive the motorbikes up and down our side streets, away from the main roads until we're ready. Then the guys on staff took a group of girls to a wide open space to learn how to drive the base's cars - which are vans & minivans, all with manual transmission (automatic cars are rare in this part of the world). So far I've just been practicing driving a motorbike. My friend Tatiana taught me on the bike she was renting, since I'm not allowed to drive our base's bikes until I get my international license (some time next month??). I was super nervous at first and very self-conscious, but it wasn't that bad. I even drove with Tatiana on the back as my passenger to a couple of nearby places. But I still haven't tried the bigger roads yet. They're still scary due to the sheer volume of traffic and the craziness required to navigate through it.

*******

As an amusing anecdote, my friend Tina began singing a hilarious tune recently. She was inspired by the vendors who sell bakso (Indonesian meat balls) in their mobile carts that they push up and down the street all day, banging a spoon against the cart to alert everyone that he has food to sell. One day she used the tune of "Macho Macho Man" to sing: "Bakso, bakso man; I wanna be a bakso man." Since then she's started singing it over and over again at random - for instance one day as we were driving down the street she began intentionally swerving back and forth as she sang, which made me freak out just a little bit. Now it's catching on, and more staff on the base have began singing it at random too. I'm hoping soon to get a picture of Tina with one our local bakso men, her musical inspiration.

Is Bali really that remote?

2008-11-04T11:54:00.002+08:00

One of the "joys" of living in a 3rd world country is trying to figure out its "systems" or "processes" of doing business there [the quotations being used to represent how loosely those words should be interpreted]. Recently I discovered just how hard it is to send mail from Indonesia and its been frustrating. I've been able to receive mail from the US ok (thanks to all those that have sent me notes & cards!), but outgoing mail is a much bigger challenge.

My frustration began when I tried to mail in my US election ballot (which I had mailed to me here). A fellow American staff told me that I could take it to the local FedEx office through October 30 and they'd send it in for FREE! So on October 30 I had a friend drop it off at FedEx. They later called me and said that the free shipping was actually only through the 29th! I was one day off, and it wasn't even my fault.

So yesterday I went to FedEx in person to pay to mail it, along with another document I needed to send home to my parents. I filled out all the paperwork and had everything in the nice FedEx envelopes, when the clerk gave me the total bill: $100!!! That's right, I didn't add a zero to it. They wanted $100 to send 2 document envelopes to the US, $50 each. I stood there stunned, jaw dropped. I told her that I didn't need super fast next day delivery or anything, just regular air mail. She said there was only one shipping option at the office, and that is 2 day express - for $50 each!!! I apologized but told her it was impossible for me to pay so much (I couldn't even afford $20 for both) and that I'd have to look somewhere else... I just don't know where to look yet!

I'm hoping one of our Indonesian staff can take my ballot to one of the hidden post office locations in town to just get a stamp on it, since it just has to be postmarked by today. I don't know if I can trust the regular post office to send my other document home or not, but right now I really don't know what else to do. It makes me miss the streamlined efficiency of the Japanese postal system....

2008-10-25T16:10:00.002+08:00

I'm finally starting to get really busy here, and it feels good. My first few weeks they didn't really have any work for me to do since I don't have a defined position yet. I helped out with what I could, whether it was lending a hand in the kitchen or doing my weekly work duties of lunch/dinner cleanup or cleaning the hallway or staff lounge. I also began to participate in the ministries our base is involved in.

While my base primarily serves as a student/staff training center and national office, it is also involved in several regular local ministries. One is a sort of kids club for kids in our immediate community. This is the one ministry I haven't actually participated in yet since I'm not good at doing kids ministry. I went once to the ministry in the slum, not realizing that it too was a sort of school program for kids there who couldn't afford to go to school (in Indonesia even public school isn't free - there's tuition, uniforms, and other miscellaneous fees). But the other two weekly ministries we do are targeted at adults, and those are the ones I've been regularly helping with.

One ministry is to prostitutes in the island's capital city, Denpasar. Outsiders wouldn't even recognize that the girls are prostitutes because they don't dress up and stand on a street corner like we expect. Instead they are situated at intervals along main/busy streets with booths (usually just a small table) for selling beverages and a simple meal that's packaged in banana leaf, called nasi jingo. Most customers only come for the food & drink and enjoy sitting on a mat on the side of the road talking & smoking. Far fewer actually come for the girls. From what I've been told, the vast majority of the girls are of legal age, 18 and above, with the rare exception being as low as 15. When we go there we simply sit on the mat on the sidewalk, get bottles of water or coke, and talk. There are more of us foreigners than Indonesian staff that go, so it's harder to communicate. But the Indonesian staff are good at making light conversation with the girls. The goal is to be able to go back to the same girls and go deeper in conversation and share the hope that we have in Christ.

The two times that I have been we've visited a Balinese girl who's only 16 years old. She's dropped out of school and doesn't really care to go back. She works there from 4pm to 4am every day unless it rains. She's pretty quiet so it has been hard to get her to open up much, and she's usually had other customers as well. I sit there, sipping my water and talking with my 2 teammates (we break up into groups to visit different girls), thinking about how this girl must feel. It's a wide, busy street with little foot traffic. It gets monotonous watching so many cars and bikes pass, wondering if or when someone may stop to buy something from her. If no one is requiring her attention she usually sits in her chair with her head down on her arms on the table - her hopelessness and pain crying out to us. So as we sit there, wishing we could do or say something to help her, we simply pray that God would give her peace and comfort while also showing her her desperate need for a change in her life.

Our other weekly ministry we do is the one I've enjoyed the most. But since I'm not sure how secure it is for me to blog about it I'll explain it in my forthcoming e-newsletter. We've also been doing outreach at the 1st Asian Beach Games which was held here this week, which I'll also describe in the e-newsletter. If you wish to receive an e-newsletter and have not already received one by the first week of November, please email me and I'll be sure to add you to the list.

In other news, I began attending an Indonesian language school this week along with Tina, a staff from New Zealand. We were surprised a couple weeks ago when we took our placement test and they told us we would be in level 3 (there's 6 levels total), because we thought we were only ready for level 2. Our first day of class we were totally overwhelmed and were sure that we didn't belong in that level. But after a week of it I'm feeling a little better. I had been wanting to be challenged and I certainly am now. Our class is 2 hrs a day, Monday through Friday, in the afternoon. It's nice to have such intensive studies and direct application through living together with Indonesian staff. I'm a bit overwhelmed with all the vocabulary I've had to catch up on to be at-level, but I'm getting plenty of practice. The only downside is that our class is in Denpasar and it takes about half an hour to get there. This week we've had to take taxis there and back everyday, which is expensive (about $6 each direction). But we're hoping that soon we can rent or buy our own motorbike (they're like $60 a month, which we'd split between us) so Tina can drive us, and eventually I'll learn to drive too and we can trade off.

That's it for now. Thanks again for all the prayers. It's been a tough couple of weeks, particularly in finances, but God is faithful!

The 5 Senses in Bali: Touch

2008-10-16T15:56:00.003+08:00

For the last week or so I've had a heightened awareness of the environment my body is in as I begin to really appreciate the place that is now my home.

I've always loved hot weather and plenty of sunshine, so I looked forward to living in the tropics. I'm finding I can still tolerate the heat and humidity better than the cold - and that I'm actually thankful to have a cold shower too help cool me down. Yet as October has progressed and is moving on to November, I've got a little bit of weather-shock. Its finally sinking in that I'm not going to experience fall for a long time. The cool of the evening is as close as I get to colder weather. I find myself wishing for an excuse to wear long sleeves and snuggle up inside a cozy sweatshirt. The only opportunity I've had so far is when riding motorbikes in the evening. The breeze is exhilarating, and I savor every time I get to ride, no matter how close or far the destination, always wishing for a few extra minutes of cool air and adrenaline.

Someone at home asked me whether we get much wind here or not. The answer is yes, we do get gentle breezes off the sea - for which we are all very thankful - though so far we haven't had any gusts like we get back home.

Last week I succumbed to the cold virus that was going around among some of the staff here. Thankfully I had brought plenty of cold medicine from home so I could treat myself. But I wasn't so happy that my neck & shoulder went out at the same time, pretty much confining me to my room for a few days of rest and continued boredom. But by the weekend my neck had improved and my cold symptoms had significantly lessened.

It took me a couple weeks before I really started to take advantage of the proximity of the beach. Now I appreciate every opportunity to get exercise through walking the beach. Last Friday 2 fellow staff girls and I decided to walk all the way to the airport along the beach. It was less than 3 miles / 5 km round trip and took us about an hour. Along the way we passed plenty of tourists, beachside restaurants, and local fisherman taking their boats out for an evening catch.

looking back at some of the beachside restaurants

local fishermens' boats stored along the beach

plane landing at the airport

fishing at sunset

Then on Saturday one of the girls and I decided to spend a couple hours sunbathing. We went at noon - the peak heat & strength of the sun - and alternated our sunbathin with dips in the sea. I hadn't been swimming in about 2 years, and hadn't swam in the ocean/sea for about 3 years so I was a bit hesitant. But the spot we were at was nice and shallow, with no undertow, so we could wade/swim out safely for quite a distance. It was perhaps the first time I've ever enjoyed swimming in the sea - plus it's another great form of exercise. Unfortunately, we forgot to reapply our sunscreen after our stints of swimming, which left both of us sunburned. It's been more than 10 years since I've had a sunburn this bad. But neither of us regret our afternoon on the beach - we'll be happy to go back some other weekend and do it again, just being more cautious of the power of the equatorial sun.

One of the other things I've more than adapted to is the feel of tile beneath my bare feet. Shoes must be taken off before entering our bedrooms, the dining area / meeting room, and the office and all of those floors are tile. There's no point wearing socks or any shoes you'd have to tie, so everyone wears sandles 99% of the time. Even without wearing shoes in those places, it's really hard to keep feet (and floors) clean. I always feel so bad when I walk barefoot through a place that was just mopped, leaving behind a trail of muddy footprints to be remopped later.

The last thing I can think to classify under "touch" is being bitten by mosquitoes. With the rise in humidity preceding the rainy season, the mosquitoes have been multiplying. In Bali there are not only basic mosquitoes, but also a variety that carries Dengue fever and malaria. When I first arrived there was a DTS student who had just contracted Dengue fever that some of the staff were nursing back to health. He had to stay behing an extra week before he could go on outreach with his team. I try not to get paranoid about contracting anything from mosquitoes. It's pretty impossible to avoid getting bitten, and once again I'm starting to look like I have the chicken pox with all the bites on my legs. Thankfully most of them don't itch at all.

I don't want you to get the impression that life here is a vacation. Every day has its unique challenges - physically, spiritually, etc. This is simply the context for my life and the work I am doing here in His service. In my next posting I'll be able to delve more into the work I've been doing since arrived and how I'm spending my time.

The 5 Senses in Bali: Sound

2008-10-08T15:22:00.006+08:00

Silence really would be golden, if it could ever truly be achieved here in Bali. Yet again, I don't really like too much quiet - except when I'm trying to sleep. Here's a list of various sounds I hear on an average day:

motorbike engines starting and buzzing by
waves crashing on the beach - depends on how strong the tide and how many other sounds compete with it
the giant tourist bus that drops off tourists at the nearby beach restaurants every evening
the vendor across the street playing his bamboo drum/chime instrument, particularly in the evening
food vendors rolling their carts by, alerting us with bells or tunes that they have food to sell
local Hindu priests & shamans chanting their sutras in the temple nearby
the baby next door crying (my room is next to the wall that separates our property from the neighbor's)
roosters crowing at all hours of the day (some from the trees they perch in)
dogs barking
lizards squeaking
mosquitoes buzzing
a million different cell phone ring tones
music drifting down the hallway from other staff who apparently think everybody wants to hear what they're listening too; thankfully it's almost always praise/worship (confession: I've cranked mine up on occasion as well)
airplanes taking off overhead; the airport is less than 2 miles / 3 km away
rain pounding against roofs and tile floors, and thunder if it's stormy
the buzz of air conditioning units and the whir of fans
clicking of the hot water heating unit that runs along the outside of my back wall up to the kitchen

Monday we had an additional sound that we weren't expecting. A group of us had just finished moving the staff lounge from one building to another. I had jumped in the shower to clean off all the allergy-inducing dust. Then there was a loud crash outside, which I could hear from in my shower, followed by shrieks from a Canadian staffer saying things like "I hope there's no one under there... I'm scared we'll find a body... I'm still shaking..." I couldn't imagine what it was that had created such a commotion.

As soon as I was out of the shower I walked back to the area we'd just been working in to discover that the roof over the porch of our new staff lounge had completely collapsed! Thank God, no one was there when it happened. The only thing really damaged was a bicycle and some potted plants. We were all quite dumbfounded as to why it had collapsed. There hadn't been any recent earthquakes or any obvious structural damage leading up to it. I don't think we'll ever know why. After lunch a group of us got to work on cleaning up the whole mess - which for me was a lot of fun, though I ended up even dirtier than before and had to take a second shower.

One of our staff being a little too dramatic amidst the rubble of the collapsed roof

"The Vision and the Verity"

2008-10-04T15:03:00.002+08:00

This week has been a little frustrating for me, in the sense of not having enough to do. I guess everyone here's been trying to give me enough time to settle in and all, but honestly I haven't really needed that much since I've been here before and I already know a lot of the people and places. I came ready to work but have ended up questioning my ability to be effective. I know God has called me to be here in Bali, and I know that He has something for me to do here - I just don't know exactly what yet. All I have are vague ideas of things God has told me before.

I've discovered this week that I really need to cling to the promises God has given me and the words He has spoken to me, continuing to walk by faith and not by sight. I've been reminding myself of what happened when I came to Indonesia this spring. I had no idea what I'd end up doing, yet God ended up giving me some amazing things to do that I never would have expected or imagined. I need to live in expectation that He's going to do that here as well - in His time and ways, not mine.

This morning as I was laying in bed, delaying getting up, I happened to look up at my bookshelf with books I'd brought with me. For some reason my copy of Oswald Chambers' "My Utmost for His Highest" seemed to be flashing at me like a neon sign. I haven't read through it in a couple of years, yet it seemed like I needed to take it down from the shelf and see what it said for today, October 4. I was absolutely blown away by God's timing and message to me. I thought I'd share what it says:

The Vision and the Verity
"Thank God for the sight of all you have never yet been. You have had the vision, but you are not there yet by any means. It is when we are in the valley, where we prove whether we will be the choice ones, that most of us turn back. We are not quite prepared for the blows which must come if we are going to be turned into the shape of the vision. We have seen what we are not, and what God wants us to be, but are we willing to have the vision "batter'd to shape and use" by God? The batterings always come in commonplace ways and through commonplace people.
There are times when we do know what God's purpose is; whether we will let the vision be turned into actual character depends upon us, not upon God. If we prefer to loll on the mount and live in memory of the vision, we will be of no use actually in the ordinary stuff of which human life is made up. We have to learn to live in reliance on what we saw in the vision, not in ecstasies and conscious contemplation of God, but to live in actualities in the light of the vision until we get to the veritable reality. Every bit of our training is in that direction. Learn to thank God for making known His demands.
The little "I am" always sulks when God says do. Let the little "I am" be shrivelled up in God's indignation - "I AM THAT I AM has sent thee." He must dominate. Is it not penetrating to realize that God knows where we live, and the kennels we crawl into! He will hunt us up like a lightening flash. No human being knows human beings as God does."

Armed with God's promises, I press on in anticipation of His plans for me. I'm sure that it won't take too long before I'll actually wish I had more free time. In the meantime, I am helping out with whatever little things I can do around here - whether it's kitchen / cleaning duty or going out with a team for ministry to prostitutes or at a local prison (more details to come on both of those things). I'm brushing up on my Indonesian language in preparation for a placement test at a language school next Wednesday. If there's enough students to run the class, it will start October 20. I'd appreciate prayer for both the placement test - that I am placed at the right level so I'll be challenged - and that the class will have enough students to acutally run.

The 5 Senses in Bali: Sight (Part 2)

2008-09-29T17:03:00.002+08:00

I'm writing these entries from the second of our YWAM properties here, called "the Bungalows." This location serves as the main staff residence as well as the office they work out of. The wireless internet here has been my only source so far since we don't have an internet connection at the Center. But most coffee shops in the area offer free wireless to paying customers, so if I wanted I could go to one of them.

It's about a 7 minute walk to get to the Bungalows - or I could catch a quick motorbike ride from other staff heading the same direction. It is along this path that I really get a glimpse of authentic local life. Unlike the rest of Indonesia, Bali is more than 90% Hindu. Its presence is impossible to ignore as I pass the neighborhood Hindu temple and step over food offerings to the Hindu gods/spirits that are placed in small woven banana or palm leaf dishes in front of almost every residence/building at least once a day (to step on them, even by accident, would be insulting). By the end of the day, they usually end up getting run over by all the local road traffic - cars, trucks, motorbikes, etc. - or discarded into the run-off gutters along the road. That's also where a lot of garbage ends up, especially plastics that don't decompose. I usually see a few chickens running around in the gutters pecking at the garbage too.

Besides chickens, there's plenty of dogs running around. According to Hindu beliefs, dogs are at the bottom of the chain of life and therefore are treated badly. The dogs here run wild, foraging for whatever food they can find and getting into plenty of mischief. They're definitely not the kind you want to reach out and pet. Often they're mangy, sometimes very malnourished, and it's obvious that the females have had to feed many litters of pups. Usually the dogs leave you alone - except for some on the beaches that you have to shoo away.

The other critters I tend to see are on the walls - thankfully not so many of the 6 or 8 legged variety, but rather the geckos and lizards that dine on them. The other night my roommate came into our room and was startled by a lizard that darted up the wall and hid behind our closet. Its body was about 6-8 inches long with a tail nearly as long. She was so creeped out she wouldn't even sleep in our room until she was sure it was gone (though neither of us actually saw it leave).

One of the other things we see walking along our road is a western-style restaurant/cafe called Gateway, which doubles as an auxillary campus for a Norwegian university. Therefore the clientelle is almost exclusively Norwegian studenst studying abroad, plus other foreigners that have discovered it. It's the closest place I can go to get brick oven pizza, fajitas, and sandwiches.

There's plenty of other interesting things to see in my neighborhood and beyond, but for now I'll limit it to the most obvious and add on later with anecdotes.

The 5 Senses in Bali: Sight

2008-09-27T12:10:00.003+08:00

One of the first things people usually notice when traveling to and living in a new country is the bombardment of their senses. My first week here in Bali has been a time of reunion with friends I made earlier this year, getting to know new staff and students at the base, and settling into my new environment. Even though I've been here before and am pretty comfortable with everything, I'm amazed at how much my senses still pick up on. I thought that perhaps the best way to orientate you with my environment is to detail it through each of the 5 senses. So for each of the next few entries I'll focus on different senses so you can "feel" what my life is like.

First I'll start with sight. The YWAM base I'm living at actually has 2 properties about a 10 minute walk apart. I live at "The Center" - the main facility for training staff and students which also serves as a student residence, hospitality center, and dining center. It's easy to see how it used to be a youth hostel or guest house for tourists. On the ground floor is a network of rooms, about the size of a college dorm-room or even smaller, all with ensuite bathrooms. I live in one of these rooms, together with my roommate, an Indonesian staff member named Telly that I know from my previous visit. Our room barely has enough space for our twin beds (not bunk beds), 2 small desks, and built-in closet/cupboard space for all of our things. I had been worried that there wouldn't be enough space for all of the luggage I brought, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that there's lots of storage space. I haven't taken pictures yet, but I'll try to do that soon. In our bathroom we've got our own shower - though it's cold water only. Hot water is not a common thing in any part of Indonesia, and there's only a few rooms here that have it. Thankfully one of them is our staff lounge, so occasionally I can indulge in the luxury of a hot shower.

The staff lounge is one of our commons areas. In the morning this is where we go for our breakfast of toast or instant oatmeal (unless we've bought our own separate food). Sadly there's no cooking facility there, though there is a microwave and a fridge. There's also a TV with local channels - which is great for my language learning practice, and a DVD player so we can watch movies together in our free time (evenings).

Walking back through the corridor and up the stairs we come to the dining hall. In the kitchen in the back is the Ibu (mother) that's been hired to cook our lunch and dinner, along with scheduled help from staff and students. At meal time the food is put out on a table and we eat buffet-style. The dining area is is open-air, giving us a view of the western sky and its gorgeous sunsets, as well as the beach and its crashing waves, and local traffic below. Over the last few months the trees have grown and obstructed the view quite a bit, but I'm told that when rainy season comes it will blow away the leaves and reveal our view once again. After meals we wash & dry our own dishes next to the laundry area. There are a few washing machines here, though I prefer hand-washing my clothes. There are a couple of drying racks in the same area, though it doesn't get much sun so it can take a few days to air dry; there's also a few racks downstairs where the sun can reach and dry them faster. Also upstairs is the classroom for the various courses they run here, as well as our meeting place for worship and prayer as a YWAM community.

Walking back downstairs and continuing straight you walk out the main gate and reach a one lane road. On the other side of the road in a beach which is home to a local fishing community. Thankfully we're not in the middle of the tourist part of the island, though we're close enough by proximity and still see them daily on the beaches and roads nearby. Lining the other side of the road are a variety of shacks - some miniature convenience stores, others home to fishermen who park their traditional, colorful boats along the beach. Every day they go out early in the morning, returning in the early afternoon to sell their catch themselves at their stalls, to local markets, or to the famous local seafood restaurants.

Lunch is calling, and since the times are set and quantity a first-come first-serve, I better go... I'll continue the description of the area I live in next time.

In transit

2008-09-21T17:23:00.000+08:00

I'm sitting in a free internet lounge in the departures terminal at Seoul airport, ever so thankful for the wonderful services of Asian airlines and airports. I spent the last 12ish hours on one of the least painful long-haul flights I've been on, thanks to the amenities of Korean Air. Now I'm killing time before my next flight in less than 2 hours, the flight that is taking me to my future in Indonesia.

It has seemed like my life has been spent in transit for the past 2 years. Since returning from Japan in August 2006 I've bounced back and forth between 7 months in the U.S., 7 months abroad, 6 months in the U.S., 3 months abroad, and my latest stint in the U.S. lasted just under 3 months. I've measured that time in terms of airports I've been through, countries visited, airlines flown, miles & kilometers traveled - and also in terms of the many friends I've made and the ones I've had to say goodbye to. It's been a strange path, yet also a paradoxically straight one. Two years of following God's directions little by little has gotten me to the point I'm at today: ready to begin my career in full-time missions.

Of course, ready is a relative term. There are days when I have full confidence in the steps I'm taking, that they're truly what God wants me to be doing with the next chapter of my life, and I'm excited about what's ahead. Then there are the days when I wonder, "What is it really going to be like? Can I really make a difference?" Even with all of the confidence I try to exude, there are still moments where I question myself. One thing I know for sure - my emotions, thoughts, confidence, etc. may go back and forth on things, but the Word of God stands firm. He never changes. He has called me to this, and I've answered and followed. In the words of a close friend of mine, "You're only responsible for your obedience." The rest is up to Him to make it work.

2008-09-06T07:53:00.000+08:00

Welcome to my new internet homepage! After 3 1/2 years with Xanga, I decided it was time to change blog hosts for the sake of better functionality and creativity. I am not planning on deleting my account with Xanga, so you will still be able to access the archive of my blog posts there.

The purpose of my writing is to be able to share with you about my experiences living overseas. In this case I will be sharing about my life in Indonesia as a missionary with Youth With a Mission (YWAM). I enjoy writing about my cultural experiences and being able to explain the differences I encounter in a way that can help my readers understand the context of my life and work. I also welcome questions and comments about those things.

I am very excited about moving to Bali in 2 weeks, for a period of at least 3 years with the YWAM base there. I hope you'll join me in seeing what all God has for me to do there as I serve Him and the people of Indonesia.